Work From Home Creative Writing Jobs

It is possible that you are looking for freelance writing work from home, but those dry as dust non-fiction topics hold no interest for you. You have a creative bent and you want to use those skills. But can you actually make good money from freelance creative writing jobs? It's possible, but not easy. The internet is replete with blogging, copy and article writing job listings - great resources if you want to earn an income from your writing skills. However openings for creative writing seem to be few and far between, at least on first look.

There are several opportunities available for creative freelancers though. Don't forget that if all else fails, it is also possible to let loose your creativity to transform the most sedate and dry topics. Many writers do manage to make a good living from freelance writing while remaining true to their creative streak.

Research the creative avenues

The first step is to look at the various niche markets for your creative brand of writing. There are many publications, both online as well as offline that buy essays, fiction, and poetry. Find these and look for ways to work from home as a freelance writer with them.

Writing for magazines

There are many popular magazines, both print and online publications that purchase creative pieces from freelancers. Look at editions of magazines such as 'The New Yorker' to get an idea of the kind of articles in demand.

Greeting card verses

There are several greeting card firms that buy poetry for their cards covering a wide range of occasions. If you have a gift for that sort of writing, this may be just the right option for you. This can prove very lucrative for those gifted few who can deliver quality verse. The demand is not seasonal, as anniversaries, special occasions, festive seasons and birthdays end up covering the entire year. The industry is not affected by ups and downs in the economy.

Creative articles

While this may initially seem to be just the opposite of the kind of work a creative writer is looking for, the market can provide a lot of room for loosening the reins on your creativity. Good writers realize that it is quite possible to blend creative writing skills with factual accounts to add more interest and depth to the piece.

Other creative avenues

There are several other possibilities that allow you to showcase your creative writing skills. Among these are:

AnthologiesArt supportBloggingEbooksEssaysEvent MaterialsGhostwritingGift BooksMemoirsVows, toasts, prayersSlogansScriptwritingSongwritingSpeechwriting

These are just a few examples of some of the wide variety of opportunities available for freelancers looking to utilize their creative talent. Carry out online research on the genre of your choice, then look for assignments in the market, and finally get down to the business of writing and being paid for it. Just remember creative writing jobs require a lot of passion and patience, so stay committed to this profession.

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Why A Writer Writes

I had an experience recently that answered the question for me: why do writers write? I was sitting in my office working on my next book.

Writers' doubts.

As I worked, I was thinking the thoughts all writers must think when starting a new project: What am I doing? Why am I writing this book? Will I ever finish it? Will it ever amount to anything? Will anyone ever want to read it? Will it make a difference in the world?

A call from a reader.

Just then, the phone rang.

"Hello, I'm George Mabon," the caller said. "I'm an estates lawyer."

I said, "Yes sir, what can I do for you today?"

"Well, you've already done it," he said. "I just called to say thank you for your article on how to estimate costs in business litigation."

My mind raced back through all of the articles I had ever written on many subjects: intuition, manifestation, healing, and earlier articles in my chosen profession, law. What article, I thought.

"Could you please remind me a little bit about the article, Mr. Mabon?" I said.

"Yes, it's the one where you talk about all of the different types of attorney and client time and expense that have to go into the litigation process and how whether to take any of those steps has to be balanced against their cost and the amount in controversy in the dispute."

My mind keeps racing back until it comes to the shocking realization that the article he's talking about was published in a local bar association magazine 30 years ago.

"If I recall, Mr. Mabon, that article was written quite some time ago," I said.

"Yes, but I've been using it a couple of times a month ever since it came out. You see, I mostly write wills and trusts, but people often ask me about disputes and courts. And I use your article to tell them what they can expect by way of costs. The article is quite accurate and my clients experience usually comes out just like the article predicts. And I was doing that again today, and I realized that I had never said thanks for all the help that that article has allowed me to give my clients over the years. So, I wanted to call and do that."

"Wow, thank YOU, Mr. Mabon," I said, "you've made my day!"

"You're welcome," he said.

We talk for a while, and, after exchanging a few more pleasantries, we ring off.

Encouragement today from an old article.

And I get to think about it. That article was on of the first ones I had ever written, and it was done 30 years ago. I remember wondering at the time whether anyone would publish it, whether anyone would read it, and whether it would make any difference, or whether it would get lost in the blizzard of information everyone's exposed to.

And now, whilst thinking similar thoughts about the book I'm currently working on, I get a call out of the blue from someone who read the old article when it was published and who has often used it during the past 30 years to make a difference in his world.

The gifts of intuition and the means to carry it out.

And I think: that's why writers write: something inside prompts them to share an experience that's meant to be shared in a way that will make some difference in the world. And that intuition carries with it the energy to overcome all of the drawbacks, rejections, and difficulties to putting that experience into print and out to the world.

I'm thankful to Mr. Mabon for calling to thank me, and I'm thankful to the universe for Mr. Mabon's call at a key moment to remind me that writers are given special gifts. Writers are first given the ability to communicate insight through the written word to others. Writers are then given the gift of life experience. They are sometimes given the gift of insight into that experience. And when an intuition with an insight into experience comes, writers are given the gift of the creative energy to make their writing exist in a tangible form accessible to the world.

Why writers write.

Why do writers write? They write because they have been given something special. They write because they are compelled to. They write because they are fulfilling their destiny to use the gifts they have been given to make a difference in the world.

And that's why writers write.

Jim Wawro, Author, Ask Your Inner Voice ( http://amzn.to/ckWgWh ). While trying cases as an international lawyer, I discovered that some people have learned the secret to actively calling on inspiration whenever they need it. My books reveal the proven methods used by history's greats and regular people alive today for actively tapping into the wisdom that resides within each individual. Learn more at my website http://www.activateintuition.com/. Please share your reactions to this article by clicking on "comment" just below the title.

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Writer's Block and Story Ideas

It doesn't matter if you write fiction or non-fiction, if you use paper and pencil or pen, if you use a computer's word processor, if you are an experienced author or an aspiring one. At one time or another, everyone who puts one word in front of another for people to read faces a blank page that seems to want to stay blank.

Of course no page fills itself up. But when the ideas are flowing, it can certainly seem that way. It's when ideas have gone into hiding that the blank page is so daunting. In fact, it can cause you to believe that you must be a dreadful writer if you can't think of anything to write. And that's when the term "writer's block" rears its ugly head.

Writers can get blocked so easily, it's a wonder any of us ever writes anything. But the truth is, writer's block is an internal phenomenon. What's blocked is the writer's psyche. I'm no psychologist, but I've had my share of inner "demons" and they all spring from the same source inside the human brain.

But it doesn't have to get as far as depression or low self-esteem. The truth is, writers write when they have something to say.

So the minute that dreaded blank page makes your heart skip a beat because you think you've lost the ability to write, here are some steps to take. Try any or all -- whatever works.

Tune into your environment, engaging all your senses.

1.) Are there sounds?

A clock ticking, children playing outside, the roar of traffic, a distant train whistle, a woodpecker. Just keep listening. Jot down each sound for at least five minutes, or until you're itching to write. Do any of the sounds evoke an emotion? Is the woodpecker annoying? Imagine being exhausted and just on the edge of sleep when it starts rat-a-tat-tatting away at insects in a nearby tree. Can you use this as a story starter?

Idea: Why is this character exhausted? Is it early morning or mid-afternoon? Is this a much-needed nap or a shift-worker bedding down for her "night's" sleep during the day? Or is your character on the run and trying to sleep by day, because he's been traveling under cover of darkness?

Does a train whistle evoke an emotional response. I've personally always thought there was a lonesome quality to distant train whistles. Nearby, they sound like foghorns and elicit an entirely different reaction. Still, as the train recedes in the distance, what was a mind-numbing blast becomes haunting, like a memory.

What would your reaction to a sudden loud train whistle be if you were stalled on the train tracks? What if you had a child locked into a safety seat in the back of your car? Could you get yourself and your child out in time? Write the scene, including the emotion.

Is wind whispering through pine trees, whining through gaps around the windows, moaning throughout a stormy night? Listen with your inner ear and write how these sounds make you feel.

Does a ticking clock make you crazy because you can't get it out of your head? Could it actually drive you insane? Speculate and write.

Do city sounds make you yearn for the peace of the country? Do country noises make you yearn for the familiarity of the city -- even the random gunshot and blare of horns? Writing about these feelings will clarify them.

2.) Is there a fragrance in the air?

Is someone baking, cooking dinner, spraying hairspray, using cologne, freshening the air? Aromas can evoke powerful memories and emotions. Think about baking cookies in Grandma's (or Mom's) kitchen and start writing while the memory is fresh. Don't forget to write in the aromas and the feelings.

Have the nearby fields been plowed and treated with animal fertilizer? Did a skunk spray its way out of danger close by? Does freshly-mown clover hay smell sweet and earthy or does it send your sinuses into an uproar? Whatever your reaction, write about it.

3.) Explore the textures around you.

Gently rub your hands across various surfaces, almost like a whisper. Compare and contrast your own reactions to feeling brick, stone, sandpaper, silk or satin, burlap, cotton, leather, wood, glass, wallpaper, velvet, human skin, metal, rubber, plastic, a toy stuffed animal, etc.

Did anything give you goosebumps? Arouse you? Repel you? Send you on a memory journey? Write what you felt with your sense of touch as well as what emotions were elicited.

4.) Sample foods.

Taste various foods for their temperature, spiciness, texture, flavor and ethnic culture. You have to eat, anyway, so why not make it a writing exercise as well? Tune into your reactions. Did something make you grimace? Was it too sweet or was it sour? Did it taste like last week's garbage or did your eyes roll back in your head and you sighed, because the taste was exquisite?

5. Look and see.

It's possible to look, but not to really see. As writers, we need to do both. And we need to see on more than one level. Focus on a small section of a room. The trick is to keep narrowing the area of vision until you've zoomed in as far as you can with the naked eye.

Let's say you picked a coffee table to examine. Even if it has very little on it, chances are the longer you go over it with a detailed eye, the more you will see. Is that a shadowy beverage stain in the wood grain? Does the table's glass inset have flaws in it? Tiny bubbles or other imperfections? Inside the art book on the table, is there anything loose? Anything personal? Something hidden under the end papers?

Once you have seen all there is to see in this small area, try to imagine ways in which your discoveries, however small or insignificant, might affect people in a fictional situation. What emotions did the items evoke? Which reactions were the most knee-jerk and which were the mildest? Why?

The key with this technique is to engage your senses, consider possible character reactions.

You carry your five senses around with you all the time. If you learn to hone those senses so that they work for you on command, your prose will begin to show it. What? You're not writing yet? Get to it!

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Writing A Business Topic Book In 3 Easy Steps

You may think you couldn't possibly write a business topic book but, here's an easy way to go about it -- at least to get well started in it.

Say you wanted to write a book on publishing a newsletter.

Step 1.

First of all, using your word processor, you would write 3 headings. These headings would be the three most general areas you'd want to break down the process.

In this case, let's say this would be "writing", "designing" and "producing". So write these down, one per line, leaving 4 lines in between each heading.

A) Under the "Writing" heading:

You'd want to tell your reader what he/she will need to do first. For example, what would be the first things you'd need to do if you wanted to publish a newsletter? You'd need to know what you'll write about. You'd have a specialty area that your newsletter would cover. Then you would have an audience to whom you intend your newsletter to go to. Who are they? Describe them.

Write down everything you can think of regarding this area that you would want to tell your reader. Just write it all down, one word or one phrase per line with a line space in between. You'll come back to that later.

B) Then under the next heading "designing":

Begin to do the same as in your first heading but this time it has to do with the designing of the newsletter.
You might want to suggest a particular program to use, or talk about the one you use yourself. Or you might tell the reader what is available and let him/her choose what they would prefer.

You might want to talk about design, style, size and number of pages you'll plan.
So think of everything you want to discuss in this section. Again just write down what comes to mind.

C) Then under your "production" heading:

Do the same again. For example you would list the production steps on what will need to be done... the printing, the distribution, etc...

Just keep writing down the thoughts in the same manner. Think of everything that would be involved in your particular business topic: planning, where to get information, headlines, graphics, how it's going to be distributed, etc. etc.

Step 2.

Once your mind is depleted of all the ideas, go back over your list and expand on each one. Put yourself in the place of the reader, reading as you would want to be taught by someone about your subject of interest. Write as you would speak to a person, a friend.

As you write, you will re-arrange the words you listed and place them in order of discussion, as you need. And then continue to expand.

Re-read and make sure it is the way you want everything to be. If not, make adjustment. That's one nice thing about word processing programs, you can just insert or delete anything you want. Make yourself a copy in case you ever want to return to the original thought, as you go along.

Step 3.

Once you've written all that you have, go back and edit, re-arrange, organize, change as you see fit. Then wherever appropriate, add a heading that relates to your paragraph topic. Make sure the flow is right from the start of the process to the end.

Go through the whole work again and edit. Take out anything that is redundant or unnecessary. Read it as if you were your audience. Split up long, confusing sentences into shorter, more spiffy phrases. Use action verbs that show rather than adjectives and adverbs that tell (example: "The large wild dog came toward me as if he was going to tear me to pieces." Replace it with, "The killer dog lunged at me viciously.")

Then, go over it again and edit some more. No kidding. The secret to good writing is "edit, edit, edit" until there is nothing else to edit. You might ask some people you trust to read it and comment on it. Listen to them and incorporate in your work the criticism and ideas that you find constructive.

Once this is done and you are happy with your work, find an appropriate title and titles within each area that you can use to name your chapters or sections. Look for a phrase that will describe the main idea or point of your section or chapter. You may find that some sections need to be split up to better formulate two chapters.

Then you're ready to write it up into your final draft or manuscript for a printed book or an e-book production. Go ahead get started today. Good writing!/dmh

Diane M. Hoffmann is president of Hoffmann-Rondeau Communications Inc., which offers ONline and OFFline business services and resources. She is the founder and creator of http://www.build-your-internet-business-now.com/ and author of several books, e-books and articles on how to start, build and grow your Internet business now. Diane has recently shifted her primary focus to helping folks through the process of starting, building and growing their own Internet business successfully. Articles copyright(c)2009 Diane M. Hoffmann. You may reprint this article without any changes, making sure to include this bio.

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Writing a Novel Scene

The scene is the most essential component of fiction. It has a verbal content where you have lines spoken by the characters. For instance, you may have a young girl being ardently courted by a man. A scene also has a nonverbal content.

If a fiction story writer has convinced the readers of what he wants them to think, then the scene is a successful one. In every scene, there is a conflict that one or more characters have to face. The way the characters deal with these conflicts tell us something about them. It also lets the story progress. There are good exercises that can help beginning novel writers to develop their novel writing skills to construct scenes. This is one exercise that novice novelists can practice. Get a list of simple elements such as:

* a transportation strike causing downtown traffic

* a young business man named David Williams, has aggressive personality and faced with many business plights

* Joey Smith, fresh and successful lawyer yet unhappy with his profession

These are only examples. The list may go on as you desire. Using these elements, give yourself 30 minutes to construct a scene that makes use of the elements and leads to a significant conclusion. You will be amazed how easy it is to construct a scene and how other scenes logically come to mind instantaneously just after you've thought of one. When constructing a scene, a freelance novelist or someone who is hiring a ghostwriter should know what they want to show their reader regarding the characters and their predicaments. Once the writer has decided on this, producing the scenes is already very easy.

So the fiction writer needs to take into account the events that are put into the story. Make sure that they will help you influence the readers on how you want them to think of your characters, your characters' traits and values. Write down rational and believable events that will effectively reveal the attributes of your characters.

Sometimes, scenes will present themselves consequentially after you have had your plot. For example, if your protagonist is on a flight to a certain destination, maybe some people from the customs are going to go against her from some reason and the protagonist faces up to this people. This is only an example and there are actually numerous of automatic scenes that will suggest themselves to you.

There are no specifications on the length of a scene, for as long as it is able to convey the message to the readers. A scene could comprise of a single sentence or it could run to as far as 20 pages. The goals of every scene should be met by the time that it ends: to let the readers be more familiar with the characters and the conflicts should have intensified. It is not necessary to set an endless series of conflicts. What is meant is that once the characters succeed on one conflict, another tenser scene follows. After the hero has gotten rid of the terrorist bomb, he becomes a celebrated man. But the terrorists are furious and they plan a scheme to kill him and his loved ones.

There should be as few characters as possible involved in a scene. If your plot however, require you, to include several realistic characters in your story such as in cases when your protagonist is a commanding officer of a military quad, or the head of a school, then follow this tip. Introduce your protagonist first before any character in the story. Put him in a scene that will give the readers ideas on his personality and nature. After that you can establish another scene where each of the supporting characters can be phased in. Make sure that this scene will also be beneficial in the exposure of the qualities of the protagonist. This should also help in the progress of the plot.

If you can successfully build interest from the readers to the different character, then this is a great step in your success of building up their interest in the whole story.

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Writer's Block: Three Ways To End It and Three More on How to Avoid It

The dreaded bane of a happy writer, writer's block attacks every writer from time to time. It is as unpredictable as the flu, and often more uncomfortable! Why it occurs can sometimes be a mystery. How to end it, however, is fairly simple and straightforward. These techniques will help a writer stop writer's block from paralyzing them, and avoid blocks in the future.

1. Always have multiple writing projects going on at the same time. Even if you are facing a deadline, or have a major project going, writer's block is best avoided by working on several projects at the same time, even if you only work on each for a little bit of time. The reason for this is that multiple projects allow many avenues of thought. If you get stumped on one project working on another can open avenues of thought again. Having another project also helps avoid frustration related to writer's block, reducing related stress and anxiety, both of which only tend to increase the tendency that a block will linger.

2. Leave the project alone for a while and take a mental break. Exercise, sports, or some type of physical activity releases endorphins that can stimulate brain activity and free up clogged avenues of thought. The simple act of taking a break, even a sedentary one, can also allow writers to relax and free our minds from excessive concentration on our subject. This alone can break the cycle of writer's block and allow free ideas to re-enter our minds.

3. Use an outline or organization system and work on different parts each time. This will allow you to work on one section if you get stuck on another. As you progress through a section it is easier to overcome being stuck somewhere else. In addition, an outline gives focus and direction for a writer and allows us to summarize ideas for a section or chapter. This prevents a block because the ideas are already formulated and expressed. From this point they need only be expanded upon and fleshed out.

To avoid writer's block follow these simple strategies:

1. Write only about something that has a strong appeal for you. Passion produces power and that power can easily be used to produce a solid piece of writing that is filled with strong voice and attitude. Generally speaking, this is some of the best writing to read because it tends to be captivating and exciting.

2. If you are feeling self-conscious about your writing and are unsure if you can handle a particular topic sit down with a few friends and have a casual discussion. Keep note of the best ideas and use them to formulate an outline or summary. This will give you confidence that you know what you are doing and will generate ideas that will strengthen your piece.

3. Plan properly for a project. Use an outline. Break the project into segments and flesh out each segment so that the project is "written" before actual paragraphs are produced.

Writer's block is not a condition that just appears and stumps a writer. It is always a result of some issue that can be dealt with by employing strategies that avoid it. If it does happen, and it does to every writer at some point, using simple strategies that clear the mind and allow ideas to flow again will take care of it. Lack of proper preparation for a writing project is usually the biggest culprit, followed by a lack of familiarity with a concept. Using the above strategies will solve both issues and prevent writer's block from taking hold.

David A. Cleinman is the author of Principle Destiny, the historical fiction and action adventure novel chronicling the adventures of a determined Princess and her fight to save her family and kingdom from ruin. A free-lance writer and a business coach, he is currently residing in Florida with his wife and son. More information can be found on his blog.

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¿Escritura creativa pedirá – pero no es trampa para uso pide mejorar mi escritura creativa?

Un indicador de la escritura creativa es una tecnica simple, unas palabras o frases que puede utilizar su escritura creativa.

Una vez que haya comenzo a escribir y utiliza el simbolo del sistema para la inspiracion, eres fuera suya.

?Cual es tu escritura despues de esto totalmente de usted y de su imaginacion.

Muchos escritores creativos sentir incomodos con indicaciones de escritura creativa.

Piensan que es trampa o tomar un atajo y todas sus ideas deben ser 100% nuevo, original y sus propios.

En la superficie que si un estimado punto sonidos. por supuesto, todos queremos crear trabajo que es unico para nosotros y los frutos de nuestra creatividad solo.

Sabemos lo mal se sentiria si simplemente copiamos alguien que escribe otra y reclamo como nuestra propia.

Pero el hecho es que nada es completamente nuevo.

Todo creativo se basa en la labor de quienes nos han precedido.

Por ejemplo, pensar en ello como una empresa de gran coche comienza a disenar un nuevo modelo.

Pueden introducir muchas caracteristicas nuevas, algunas de las cuales son verdaderamente revolucionarias en el diseno de los coches y la innovacion.Probablemente, ella te puede diseno de tecnologia de vanguardia de cada nuevo elemento del nuevo modelo.

Pero ese nuevo coche, incluso despues de todo, millones de personas que pasaron y los miles de horas hombre de diseno y trabajo invertido, aun tendra cuatro ruedas y un motor.

Es lo mismo con la escritura creativa.

En la mas extremas flecos de escritura creativa, puede usted venir con palabras nuevas, incluso podria inventar nuevas cartas.Pero le hacen sentir en una forma especifica.

Escritura creativa en la expresion de ideas y emociones. si, puede ser tan experimental si desea hacerlo, pero siempre se vuelve a acerca de esa expresion humana.

Escritura creativa preguntas nos ayudan a explorar la expresion creativa.

Si eres una costurera, que realice el material de la nada. ?tiene su propia fabrica que las fibras de crudo en grandes trozos de material procesadas?Unlikely. probablemente comprar material que ya son tejidas y llevar su vestido de ello.

Si eres un musico que compone el uso de programas informaticos, se escribe un programa completamente nuevo desde cero cada vez que desea iniciar una nueva composicion? no es muy probable. puede encontrar el software que funciona para usted y utilizarlo para ayudarle a explorar sus ideas creativas de musica desde alli.

Si usted es un fotografo que se especializa en fotografiar edificios y arquitectura, vaya y construir un nuevo cada vez que desee tomar algunas fotografias? construye una nueva camara, pieza por pieza? No has comodamente camaras utilizadas y, a continuacion, encontrara edificios que inspiran su fotografia.

?Se considera que uno de los 3 artistas supra calificados de "trampa" o "no su original"?

Asi que si tienes preguntas acerca de o el uso de indicaciones de escritura creativa es infiel o de alguna manera no permitidos, reflexionar.

Se dara cuenta de hecho creativo escribiendo en muchos aspectos, ya una de las formas mas simples y mas puras, porque tenemos tan poco equipos, herramientas o tecnologias comenzar con.

Por lo tanto con unas pocas palabras o tecnicas como punto de partida es incluso menos de una preocupacion potencial.

Listo para descubrir que superior creativo escribiendo mensajes puede utilizar derecho lejos?, a continuacion, registrese para su libre 5 parte creativa de escribir sobre ecourse de www.youareacreativewriter.com

Entrenador de creatividad y agudo escritor creativa de Goodwin ayuda a las personas que se esfuerzan por ser tan creativo como saben que pueden ser. ver mas en su sitio Web: http://www.coachcreative.com